John E. Bartlett

John E. Bartlett was born in Muncie, Indiana. He earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1993. His career experience includes working as an IT support team leader.[1]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

John lives on his grandparents' farm in rural Blackford County with his family. He has four grown children. He descends from the pioneers of eastern Delaware and Randolph Counties, growing up in NE Randolph County. His parents were an auto factory worker and an elementary school teacher. He has worked for a major corporation in Indianapolis in IT support for more than 25 years. He earned his BA in History and Political Science from Indiana University-Bloomington.

John has served on the Board of Trustees at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Muncie and as the Cubmaster of a local BSA Cub Scout Pack. He also has volunteered with American Cancer Society, Build a Better Blackford (blight elimination), Second Harvest Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Appalachian Service Project, and Special Olympics.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Restoration of rural and small town economic prosperity through expansion of reliable broadband. Population has dwindled and the "work from home" initiatives corporations are going through provide an opportunity to grow rural populations if we have the correct technology in rural areas for people to work from home.Provide funding to our education system so that we stop teaching for the test and start teaching the problem solving skills to make our children competitive in the future. Bring back the teaching of trades to high schools.Protect the family farms. Corporations have greatly monopolized the farm markets decreasing the number of companies competing for farmers' products. This reduces the price they sell their products, forcing many into huge debts and bankruptcy. We need to demand the federal government enforce the anti-trust laws and shore up small family farms so they can survive.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economic growth is what I am most concerned about in Indiana. Small towns and rural areas have declined greatly since 1980 which is partially caused due to population loss. Other issues such as monopolization of farm markets has caused the rapid disappearance of family farming. We should be improving our broadband infrastructure and improving the situation of small agriculture so that we do not continue to lose out economically.

Education is a very big passion of mine. I feel that we need to redirect priorities to teaching for life long success rather than how to pass a test. We need to reintroduce trade classes. We need to be teaching mastery of critical thinking for problem solving for all students, as this is the most critical skill required for professional success in any field. We need to ensure that teachers are paid well and restrictive requirements which do not apply to the direct education of children are kept to a minimum.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

A legislator is elected to represent the constituents of the district. This means that the legislator must ACTIVELY seek the opinions of constituents and LISTEN to them. The legislator should be attending and LISTENING in local government meetings such as county and municipal commissioner and council meetings, ask for clarification, and then ask opinion on how best the state can resolve issues through legislation and constituent services.

What legacy would you like to leave?

The part of working in IT that has been most fulfilling is going home at the end of the day knowing that I have made at least one person's life easier. As a legislator, I would be able to work to do this on a much larger scale. I would like to leave a legacy of improving the lives of my constituents, making their lives easier.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember seeing the Watergate hearings on TV when I was about 3 or 4. I didn't know the significance of what was happening at the time, but I remember watching them.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My VERY first job (unpaid of course) was working on the family farm. We tilled the ground and raised crops with, by today's standards, small farm equipment (3 bottom plow, 8 ft disc, 4 row planter, mounted 2 row corn picker). We had beef cattle which required A LOT of work including grinding feed, putting up thousands of bales of hay per summer, and mucking the stalls. This was ongoing from when I can remember until I was 18 and went to college.

Other part time jobs I've had are in warehouse work, grounds keeping, food service, CNA in a nursing home, convenience store worker, Congressional intern (for US Rep Phil Sharp), and adjunct instructor at a business college. Each of these were summer jobs or jobs I had for less than a year.

My main career has been with a major company starting out with estimating equipment for bids on commercial projects which I did for 6 years before moving into IT support and team leader where I have been for the last 22 years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The Beatles - Hey Bulldog. I am a huge music fan of all genres, but I am a Beatles fanatic. This particular song has a very difficult key (B flat minor - 5 flats!), and the lyrics are kind of nonsensical, but musically, it is brilliant.

I listen to a wide variety of music. In one day I can go from the Beatles, to Sinatra, to Muddy Waters, to Mozart, to Prince, to the Statler Brothers, and back to the Who.